New York Opera Alliance Presents NEW YORK OPERAFEST 2022

NEW YORK OPERAFEST returns to in-person programming after two years of producing content virtually. For the first time since 2020, the festival offers in-person productions in New York City through June 15, 2022. The festival showcases the breadth and diversity of opera in New York City through events ranging from virtual reality to improv opera, with productions in theaters, gardens, garages, bars, playgrounds, and beyond.

NEW YORK OPERAFEST was founded to both bring increased visibility of opera to New Yorkers and to unite participant companies with collaborative and accessible performance opportunities. It is produced by the NEW YORK OPERA ALLIANCE (NYOA), a community of passionate and resilient opera producers. NYOA is fiscally sponsored by OPERA America, the national membership organization for artists, administrators, trustees, and audiences, dedicated to supporting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera.

Explains festival chair PENNY PUN, "The theme for this year's OPERAFEST is 'building' as NYOA sets its eyes on building a future for opera, after two years of uncertainty and challenges for our industry and our community. OPERAFEST 2022 will celebrate the return of in-person performances, as participating production ranges from virtual to hybrid to in-person. It's so exciting to see how these productions and artists are building the future of opera with innovation, fearlessness and adaptability!"

For more information and ticket availability, visit newyorkoperafest.org.

Featured Productions

LIGHTHOUSE OPERA COMPANY

@thelighthouseopera

What: La Traviata

When: June 3 (7pm), 5* (2pm) and 7 (7pm)

Where: Andrew Freedman Home, 1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10452

The Lighthouse Opera Company presents La Traviata directed by John Tedeschi and conducted by Stephen Francis Vasta with The Ensemble Sepia Orchestra. Performances are June 3 (7pm), 5* (2pm) and 7 (7pm), 2022 at the historical Andrew Freedman Home, 1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10452.

Cast:

Violetta Valery - Shaina Martinez & Lisa Eden*

Alfredo Germont - Michael V. Celentano & Boris Derow*

Giorgio Germont - Joseph Gansert

Flora Bervoix - Ema Mitrovic

Annina - Aurora Bella Geis & Charlotte Detrick*

Gastone de Letorieres - Scott Ruben La Marca and Ai Ra*

Barone Douphol - Jay Stephenson

Marchese d'Obigny - Phillip Bullock Dottore

Grenvil - Charles D. Carter

Giuseppe - Ai Ra and Mark Martinez*

Commissioner - Vladimir Avetsian

CHORUS Charlotte Detrick, Perri Sussman, Aditi Tawde, and Yaffe Ovsishcher

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THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY

@thelittleoperatheatreofny

What: American One Acts, a double bill

When: June 3, 2022 at 7:30pm

Where: Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street

the little OPERA theatre of ny

in association with National Black Theatre and Harlem Opera Theater present:

LOTNY's new project American One Acts, a double bill, will pair Highway 1, U.S.A. by William Grant Still, libretto by Verna Arvey, with Down in the Valley by Kurt Weill, libretto by Arnold Sundgaard. The spring preview concert will feature highlights from both operas along with other music by the composers.

The Conductor & Music Director for the concert is Harlem Opera Theater's Artistic Director Gregory Hopkins, who is joined by LOTNY Associate Musician Catherine Miller at the piano. Featured Artists include Soprano Carami Hilaire, Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Nelson Craft, Tenor Antonio Chase, Jr., Baritones Kyle Oliver and Adam Richardson, and Bass Gregory Sheppard. The performance is directed by Philip Shneidman.

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OPERA LAFAYETTE

@operalafayette

What: Silvain

When: June 7, 2022 at 7pm

Where: Museo del Barrio, New York, NY

Silvain (1770) was both a favorite of Marie-Antoinette in France and the first opera performed in New Orleans in 1796. Surprisingly, the opera's story of family conflict ?and reconciliation also upheld the rights of peasants to use land owned by the nobles.

In the early 19th century, French entrepreneurs moved to the American southwest and acquired vast tracts of land from the Mexican government. They guaranteed the peasants who settled these lands the same privileges as those at the center of the drama in Grétry and Marmontel's opera. Conflicts around these rights in the United States have continued to the present day, and this story's resonance in the New World has inspired Opera Lafayette's setting of this modern premiere of Silvain.

Artistic Team:

Ryan Brown, conductor

Tania Hernández Velasco, stage direction and scenic images

Patricia Michaels, costume design

Josh Higgason, projection design

Linn Cary Mehta, translation and adaptation

Cast:

Camille Ortiz, Hélène

Victor Sicard, Dolmon, Fils ainé, sous le nom de Silvain

Samantha Louis-Jean, Pauline

Teresa Castillo, Lucette

Jehú Otero, Bazile

Nathan Berg, Dolmon père

The Opera Lafayette Orchestra

Chorus:

Juan Hernandez

Gilbert Chavez

Jose M. Pietri-Coimbre

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What: The Musical Salon of Marie Antoinette

When: June 8, 2022 at 7pm

Where: Museo del Barrio, New York, NY

As the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette had ?an extraordinary education? in ?music and dance.? After marrying? the? French Dauphin?in ?1770 ?and becoming Queen of France? in? 1774, she became ?a ?patron ?of contemporary composers ?and performed? frequently? in her own salon as ?a? harpist. This program brings the listener into her salon at Versailles to hear airs and chamber works? of Gluck, the Caribbean-born Chevalier de Saint Georges, and Phillip Hinner, a survivor of the ill-fated colony Kourou in Guinea, among others.?

Cast:

Sandrine -Chatron, harp

Nicholas Phan,?tenor

Sophia Burgos,?soprano

Jacob Ashworth,?violin

Charles Brink, flute

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What: Concert Spirituel Aux Caraïbes

When: June 9, 2022 at 7pm

Where: Museo del Barrio, New York, NY

Pedro Memelsdorff, a musician scholar whose recent research has focused on music in the French colonies in the Caribbean during the 18th century, conceives and leads a program highlighting French music performed there between 1760 and 1790.? The musical life of the colonies involved enslaved, formerly enslaved, and free peoples, and Memelsdorff's program addresses the extraordinarily complicated dynamics between the musical culture of imperial France and the people of the Caribbean.? Well-known French composers from the 18th? century and newly rediscovered works are represented in this orchestral ?concert with vocal soloists and ensemble.

Artistic Team:

Pedro Memelsdorff, guest conductor

Josh Higgason, projection design

Cast:

Samantha Louis-Jean, soprano

Sophia Burgos, soprano

Sishel Claverie, mezzo-soprano

Jehú Otero, tenor

Victor Sicard, baritone

Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone

Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin

The Opera Lafayette Orchestra

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OPERA PRAKTIKOS

Instagram: @opera.praktikos

Twitter: @OPraktikos

What: Orlando: Hero of Love

When: June 2, and June 11

Where: Campos Community Garden & Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Handel's baroque opera Orlando, about a knight from the Crusades, dramatizes the classic struggle between love and glory. Our adaptation views this story with a contemporary sensibility, centering on the core question 'What is love?', exploring how we can confront madness and transcend pain during a great time of loss.

Opera Praktikos: "We make opera accessible and want our audience to 'feel seen' when they come to see Orlando. We want you to have an experience of identifying with the struggles of our characters and be with them as they find a pathway into healing."

Cast:

Jeffrey Mandelbaum as Orlando - (The Enchanted Island)

Heather Hill as Angelica - (Other World)

Hai-Ting Chinn as Medoro - (Einstein on the Beach)

Elyse Anne Kakacek as Dorinda - (Princess Maleine)

Hans Tashjian as Zoroastro - (The Barber of Seville)*

*appearing courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

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UNTITLED THEATER COMPANY NO. 61

@EdwardEinhorn

What: Holiday Operas Workshop

When: June 2 at 7:30pm

Where: OperaAmerica

Selections from two operas in development. Exagoge, composed by Avner Finberg, adapts the oldest known Jewish play (written in the 2nd Century by Ezekiel the Tragedian) into a modern opera. The original play was based on the story of the Exodus, and the modern opera is set at a Passover seder.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, composed by Nell Carter Cohen, adapts the L. Frank Baum book of the same name. It is a fantasy adjacent to Baum's best know works, with characters from Oz series as well as classic characters like a young Santa Claus and Jack Frost. Both have librettos written by Edward Einhorn.

Untitled Theater Company No. 61: "The arts are a celebration of what it means to be human, and in the most difficult times, it is good to be reminded there are also still reasons to celebrate."

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NEW YORK OPERA ALLIANCE (NYOA) is a consortium of New York City opera companies and producers established to enhance and support the visibility and viability of opera in NYC. Founded in 2011, NYOA has grown from 13 organizations to close to 50 strong. Since 2013, NYOA has been fiscally sponsored by OPERA America. They believe that New Yorkers and visitors to New York alike can be better informed about the breadth, range and vitality of New York City's opera-producing community. NYOA is a community-driven organization; together, they aspire to increase awareness of participating organizations, share ideas and resources, and generate revenue for collaborative projects. nyoperaalliance.org

OPERA America is the national membership organization for artists, administrators, trustees, and audiences, dedicated to supporting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera. Based in New York City at the National Opera Center, a custom-built rehearsal and performance facility for the opera field, OPERA America is committed to advancing new work, audience engagement, civic practice, artist and leadership development, research, national advocacy, and an inclusive industry that moves opera forward in America. operaamerica.org

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